Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1887-12-24

and talk, and talk, and talk, but miserable
comforters are they all They can not pour
| light into the cave of Adullam They can
not bring a single draught OF water from
the well Of Bethlehem, which is by
the gate But, glory be to Jesus
| There is life in the well at the gate If you
/ give me time, will draw up a promise for
every man, woman and child in this house.
! Ay, l will do it in two minutes. will lay
hold the rope Of the old we'll What is your
troubled 'fOh,n you say, II am so sick. so
weary of life-ailments after ailments" |
will draw up promise: "The inhabitants
| will never say Il am sick What is your
troubled ''Oh, it is loss of friends-bereave-
ment," you say. ] will draw you up a
promise, fresh and cool, out of the well II
am the resurrection and the life; he that be-
lieveth in me- though he were dead yet shall
he live" What is your trouble! You say it
/ is the infirmities of old age. will draw you
upa promise: Down to old age am with
thee, to hoary hairs will | carry thee
What is your troubled ''Oh,n you say. II
have a widowed soul. and my children cry for
bread" bring up this promise: Leave thy
J fatherless children-l will preserve them
/ alive, and let thy widows trust in me- |
! break through the armed ranks of your sor-
rows to-day, and bring to your parched lips
"a drink OF the waters of the well of Bethle-
hem, which is by the gate"
Again, the Gospel well is at the gate Of
heaven. have not heard yet one single in
, telligent account of the future world from
anybody who does not believe in the Bible.
They throw such fog about the subject that
| do not want to go to the skeptic's heaven. to
the transcendentalists heaven to the worldly
philosophers heaven would not exchange
the poorest room in your house for the finest
heaven that Huxley. or Stuart Mill, or Oar
win ever dreamed Of Their heaven has no
Christ in it.; and heaven without Christ,
though you could sweep the whole universe
into it, would be a bell Oh. they tell us
there are no songs there; there are no
coronations in heaven-that is all inn
agination They tell us we will do
there about what we do here, only
on larger scale--geometrize with
clearer intellect, and with. alpenstock
60 clambering up over the icebergs
in an eternal vacation. Rather than that. /
turn to my Bible, and find Johns picture
Of that good land-that heaven which was
your lullaby in infancv-that heaven which
our children in the Sabbath-school win sing
about this afternoon-that heaven which has
"well at the gate"
After you have been on a long journey,
and you come in, all bedusted and tired, to
your home, the first thing you want is Ie-
freshing abiution. and am gHd to know
that after we get through the pilgrim
age of this world-the harL dusty pill
grimage-we will find a well at
will go our sins and sorrows. do not
care whether cherub, or seraph or nv own
departed friends in that blessed land place
to my lips the cup, the touch of that cup
will be life, will be heaveDl | was read
ing Of how the ancients sought for the
fountain of perpetual youth, They thonght
IL they could only find and drink out of that
we'll the old would become young again, the
sick would be cured, and everybody would
have eternal juvenescence. OF course, they
could not find it, Eureka, l have found it!
1.-THE water of the well of Bethlehem, which
Is by the gate"
think we had better make a bargain with
those who leave us, going out of this world
from time to time, as to where we will meet
them. Travellers parting appoint place of
meeting. They say; I'VE will meet at
holm. or Vienna, or Jerusalem. or Bethle-
hem" Now, when we come 20 stand
by the death-pillow of those who are
leaving us for the far land. do not let us weep
as though we would never see them again,
but let us, there standing, appoint a place
where we will meet. Where shall il be, Shall
10 be on the banks of the rivers No. The
banks are too long. Shall it be in the
templel No; no. There is such host
therefor thousand times ten thousand.
Where shall we meet the loved ones, Let US
make an appointment to meet at the well by
the gate. Oh, heaven! Sweet beavenl Dear
heaveni Heaven. where our good friends
arei Heaven, where Jesus is! Heaven
Heavenl
But while stand here there comes revul-
Eion of feeling when look into your eyes and
know there are souls here dying of thirst,
notwithstanding the well at the gate Be
tween them and the well Of heaven there is a
great army of sin; and though Christ is
ready to clear way TO that well for them,
they will not have his love or intercesson
But am glad to know that YOU NAV cor,e
4 taxax atalI 10 tle.xt x,f H.
Come do not care how feeble you are let
me take hold of your arm, and steady you NJ
TO the well-curb. "Ho, every one that
thirsteth come" would rather win on, sui
10 Christ this morning than wear the crown
Of the worlds dominion. Do not let any
mar go away and say did not invite him
Oh. if you could only Just loOk at my Lord
once: II you could Just see him full in the face
ay, if You could only do as that woman did
whom read about at the teginning OF the
services-lust come up behind him and
touch his feet-methinks you would live. In
Northern New Jersey one winter three lit
tie children wandered off from homs i'm "A
snow storm Night came on Father and
mother said, "Whereare the children They
could not be found They started out in
haste, and the news ran to the neigh
bors, and before morning it was said that
there were hundreds of men hunting the
mountains for those three children. bir
found them not. After while a man imagined
there was place that had not been looked at,
and he went and saw the three children He
examined their bodies. He found that the
older boy had taken off his coat
and wrapped it around the younger one. the
baby, and then taken Off his vest ard put il
around the other one; and there they all
died. he probably the first, for be had no coat
or vest. Oh, it was touching scene when that
was brought to light! | was on the ground
a little while after. and it brought the
whole scene to my mind, and l thought to
myself Of a more melting scene than that:
when Jesus. our elder brother, tool; of the
robe of his royalty and laid aside the last
garment Of earthly comfort, that he might
wrap our poor souls from the blast. Oh, the
height, and the depth, and the length, and
, the breadth of the love Of Christi